My main concern is the hours... I've only ever bought mowers with fewer hours on it...but I know 750 isn;t outrageous. It does, however, cloud my price-judging abilities!! How long should this Kawa go? 2000?

J&R Landscaping

08-12-2007, 11:36 PM

$2900 is a great deal! The engine should last till at least 2200-2500 hours. Why is it being sold?

thefed

08-13-2007, 01:08 AM

he says he gave up and quit lawncare.//got a 'real' job. he tried for 2.5 yrs solo and it didnt work out

Envy Lawn Service

08-13-2007, 01:19 AM

Bobcats are great machines.

Just don't expect this one to be a big powerhouse... (19/52)

And expect to do a LOT of air filter maintenace if it doesn't have the canister filter.

Do you have the money available to "re-power" it with a larger engine if you don't like it?

It's a great buy if the unit looks visibly maintained. 750 hours is nothing really and that mower is $7200.00 new.

They now come with 21HP Kawi engines and I drove through 2 acres of 10" grass today andthe Kawi just pulls right through. Torque is they key issue and a Kawi 19 or 21 will perform right along side a 25 HP Briggs or Kohler.

You'll be happy with it, just follow the maintenance and replace the air-filters often if it doesn't have the canister style (already mentioned in previous post).

Envy Lawn Service

08-13-2007, 01:59 AM

Walkbehinds are not near as heavy, do not run as big a hydro system and are not "expected" to mow at high ground speeds.

If I had to choose between the two... I'd still rather ride...

But you might want to try the mower out if you can before buying.

I have a 23hp Kawi on a 52" and would certainly not want anything less for "my" applications. I have a 25hp Kawi on a 60" and feel exactly the same. I had a 21hp Kawi on a 48" and thought it was a TOTAL DOG compaired to the other IDENTICAL machine with a different engine on it. 19hp on a 52" has to be pretty weak. I see a lot of the 19/52 Bobcats for sale with low-low hours... and I think that is why.

But if you can afford to buy the mower at such a low price, and then also afford to re-power if you feel it's needed... well then it's not a big deal...

DOLMARatOS

08-13-2007, 11:04 AM

I agree with Envy about trying the unit in a real world grass-cutting situation. Cut the guy's lawn or something for him while you're there and go full bore to get a feel for how much grunt you've got and does it meet your mowing habits.

As an aside note. HP and Engine size have more to do with what make/model unit you are driving than what size deck/engine combination.

Example. 19/48 snapper ZTR with Kawi KAI engine, not bad but a little doggy at 9-10mph in 6" of grass. (This is probably due to the deck design, not enough room to get air and grass moving)

21/52 Bob-Cat Pro-Cat ZTR with Kawi motor. No problems at 11-12mph in the same situation. Again I feel this is mostly the deck design.

27/61 Scag Turf Tiger. These are the biggest pooches I've ever seen. Most of their problem lies in WAY too much parasitic loos of power in the deck. Mule drive, drive-shaft, gear box, then another belt. Plus they don't run fan-cooled hydros.

It's always best to test something out in real world conditionsand see if it fits your needs. Regardless, I'd buy the mower if it looks to be in good shape and if a year from now you want to re-power...for $2000.00 or less you'vegot a new motor AND you have a 19hp to put on a walk, or another ZTR.

J&R Landscaping

08-13-2007, 07:03 PM

When I had a 52" bobcat "old style" rider, it had the 22hp kohler engine on it. It seemed good. I'm not sure I'd want the less amount of hp on some jobs but for the majority of them, I think 19 would be fine.

SimonCX

08-13-2007, 09:53 PM

I have a zt219 with a 52" deck and I can personally say it is a very good mower. Mine has about 300hrs, it is a solid machine. It will cut very tall heavy grow just like big machine you just have to go alittle slower. Great mower, simple to do maintance and not a gas hog. If it is in good shape then the price is sounds good, I think there about $7200 new.

thefed

08-13-2007, 11:03 PM

well, we got it today...2850 final price

seems to not liek to start up after sitting longer than 1-2 minutes without the choke...and that seems odd. also, the throttle cable does not stay in the middle positions....just low or high....

i have NEVER set foot on a ZTR til today....wow...its gonna take some time to get right. i definately dont want to use it on customers grass til i get it down. partner has plenty of ztr experience, so he will use it and i will play with it for a few weeks

thanks fore the input guys

Envy Lawn Service

08-13-2007, 11:19 PM

well, we got it today...2850 final price

seems to not liek to start up after sitting longer than 1-2 minutes without the choke...and that seems odd. also, the throttle cable does not stay in the middle positions....just low or high....

i have NEVER set foot on a ZTR til today....wow...its gonna take some time to get right. i definately dont want to use it on customers grass til i get it down. partner has plenty of ztr experience, so he will use it and i will play with it for a few weeks

thanks fore the input guys

Well, you got a good buy on it at that price.

Don't worry about the choking... that's normal to an extent for Kawasaki's.
But do keep a sharp eye on that air filter.

Don't know about the throttle. But if it works...

ZTR's do take some seat time to get right.
Let your partner drive it on the good lawns... and you get in your seat time on the ones that don't matter.

SimonCX

08-13-2007, 11:38 PM

well, we got it today...2850 final price

seems to not liek to start up after sitting longer than 1-2 minutes without the choke...and that seems odd. also, the throttle cable does not stay in the middle positions....just low or high....

i have NEVER set foot on a ZTR til today....wow...its gonna take some time to get right. i definately dont want to use it on customers grass til i get it down. partner has plenty of ztr experience, so he will use it and i will play with it for a few weeks

thanks fore the input guys

Mine has the same thing, I have to pull the choke to start it but it's been like that since new, my 25hp can sit for 2 hours and it will start without choke. Try spraying lube in the throttle cable it might just loosen it up, could just be dry and not moving smooth.

thefed

08-15-2007, 01:55 AM

well, it sure stripes nice! it cut down some time, but definately made things easier. like it os far!

supercuts

08-15-2007, 06:39 PM

sounds like you got a great deal. 750hrs isnt much, id think of it as a car with 25K. my 2 y/o mower has 970ish hrs and my newer one bought last oct has 400+ hrs already.

J&R Landscaping

08-15-2007, 07:15 PM

Let's see some stripes!

zo6

06-12-2013, 09:54 AM

bobcats are great machines.

Just don't expect this one to be a big powerhouse... (19/52)

and expect to do a lot of air filter maintenace if it doesn't have the canister filter.

Do you have the money available to "re-power" it with a larger engine if you don't like it?

all you need to do is change the carb and tthats a 23 hp mower for about 3 bills!!